Biography
Spain's Crisix operate as a Barcelona-rooted thrash-metal unit whose sound draws directly from U.S. trailblazers Megadeth and Overkill together with domestic standard-bearers Angelus Apatrida and the earliest incarnation of Aggression. Critics everywhere have singled out their concerts as some of the most ferocious and physically demanding anywhere on the continent.
The group first assembled in 2008 under the spelling Crysys when Javi Carrión and Marc Torras—both formerly of Shadon—recruited guitarists Marc Busqué (late of Helltears) and Albert Requena (ex-Face). An initial vocalist proved unavailable for their debut performance, so bassist Julián Baz of Bourbon Society stepped in; the results were decisive enough that Baz remained a permanent member. Already tightly rehearsed, the quartet entered and won that year’s Martohell Metal Rumble, using the cash prize to cut their inaugural single, “Dead by the Fistful of Violence,” which Spain Kills promptly placed on its annual compilation. Two additional tracks—“Internal Pollution” and “Mummified by Society”—were tracked before year’s end and collected on the demo Demonsthrashion. Its impact earned Crisix a slot in Wacken Open Air’s A Metal Battle: Spain 2009; after prevailing in the semifinal they advanced to the nineteen-band German final, where the jury awarded them first place. The victory delivered a recording contract with Wacken, worldwide distribution, endorsements from Washburn and Eden, and a European headline tour.
Pre-production began in Germany with Polish producer Waldemar Sorychta, yet Wacken soon withdrew funding; the band therefore returned to Barcelona’s Axtudio without him and completed the album themselves before sending the mixes to Stage One Studio for final work. While awaiting release, Sony issued a cease-and-desist demanding a name change on the grounds that Crysys infringed the trademark of its Crysis video-game franchise, prompting the switch to Crisix.
Kaiowas Records issued the debut, The Menace, in 2012. After an intensive touring cycle the musicians took a brief respite, then reconvened at Moontower Studios in November with producer/engineer Javi Félez (Graveyard) to track their second album; Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel) handled mixing and mastering at Mana Recordings. Lead single “Bring ’Em to the Pit” arrived with a promotional clip in April 2013, and Rise…Then Rest followed on 30 April, entering Spain’s Top 100 albums at number 63. A nationwide tour began in May. In October founding bassist Torras departed for personal reasons unrelated to his bandmates; after an extended search the group installed Dani Ramis in the chair. The new lineup logged countless club and festival dates across Europe to integrate the bassist.
Upon parting ways with Kaiowas the band secured a late-2014 deal with France’s Listenable Records and returned to Axtudio in early 2015 with engineer Òscar Ax. Jens Bogren mastered the resulting From Blue to Black, which was trailed by a lyric video for “Strange” and an official clip for “G.M.M. (Great Metal Motherfucker).” The album earned unanimous praise and supported festival appearances throughout Europe.
Immediately after touring concluded the musicians reentered Axtudio and again forwarded the material to Bogren for mastering. Against the Odds surfaced across Europe in March 2018; its lyrics ranged across Ridley Scott’s Aliens (“Xenomorph Blood”), George R.R. Martin’s fictional realms (“The North Remembers”), and Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball universe (“Prince of Saiyans”), all delivered in a concentrated fusion of thrash and hardcore. The following year brought Crisix Sessions, Vol. 1: American Thrash, a collection of covers drawn from Vio-Lence, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, and Anthrax.
The group first assembled in 2008 under the spelling Crysys when Javi Carrión and Marc Torras—both formerly of Shadon—recruited guitarists Marc Busqué (late of Helltears) and Albert Requena (ex-Face). An initial vocalist proved unavailable for their debut performance, so bassist Julián Baz of Bourbon Society stepped in; the results were decisive enough that Baz remained a permanent member. Already tightly rehearsed, the quartet entered and won that year’s Martohell Metal Rumble, using the cash prize to cut their inaugural single, “Dead by the Fistful of Violence,” which Spain Kills promptly placed on its annual compilation. Two additional tracks—“Internal Pollution” and “Mummified by Society”—were tracked before year’s end and collected on the demo Demonsthrashion. Its impact earned Crisix a slot in Wacken Open Air’s A Metal Battle: Spain 2009; after prevailing in the semifinal they advanced to the nineteen-band German final, where the jury awarded them first place. The victory delivered a recording contract with Wacken, worldwide distribution, endorsements from Washburn and Eden, and a European headline tour.
Pre-production began in Germany with Polish producer Waldemar Sorychta, yet Wacken soon withdrew funding; the band therefore returned to Barcelona’s Axtudio without him and completed the album themselves before sending the mixes to Stage One Studio for final work. While awaiting release, Sony issued a cease-and-desist demanding a name change on the grounds that Crysys infringed the trademark of its Crysis video-game franchise, prompting the switch to Crisix.
Kaiowas Records issued the debut, The Menace, in 2012. After an intensive touring cycle the musicians took a brief respite, then reconvened at Moontower Studios in November with producer/engineer Javi Félez (Graveyard) to track their second album; Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel) handled mixing and mastering at Mana Recordings. Lead single “Bring ’Em to the Pit” arrived with a promotional clip in April 2013, and Rise…Then Rest followed on 30 April, entering Spain’s Top 100 albums at number 63. A nationwide tour began in May. In October founding bassist Torras departed for personal reasons unrelated to his bandmates; after an extended search the group installed Dani Ramis in the chair. The new lineup logged countless club and festival dates across Europe to integrate the bassist.
Upon parting ways with Kaiowas the band secured a late-2014 deal with France’s Listenable Records and returned to Axtudio in early 2015 with engineer Òscar Ax. Jens Bogren mastered the resulting From Blue to Black, which was trailed by a lyric video for “Strange” and an official clip for “G.M.M. (Great Metal Motherfucker).” The album earned unanimous praise and supported festival appearances throughout Europe.
Immediately after touring concluded the musicians reentered Axtudio and again forwarded the material to Bogren for mastering. Against the Odds surfaced across Europe in March 2018; its lyrics ranged across Ridley Scott’s Aliens (“Xenomorph Blood”), George R.R. Martin’s fictional realms (“The North Remembers”), and Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball universe (“Prince of Saiyans”), all delivered in a concentrated fusion of thrash and hardcore. The following year brought Crisix Sessions, Vol. 1: American Thrash, a collection of covers drawn from Vio-Lence, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, and Anthrax.
Albums
